County crime rate on the decline

Sunday

The crime rate in Cleveland County is lower today than it was in years past.

There has been a steady decline in violent and property crimes for more than five years, with only fraud incidents showing an increase.

Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman says several factors have resulted in the drop in crime.

“There is not one single initiative that has led to the reduction in crime in our county, but several programs,” he said. “Additionally, citizens who are well-educated about crime prevention and always alert prove to be powerful allies in our fight against criminals.”

Here are a few highlights about what’s being done to reduce crime in Cleveland County.

Community policing

After taking office six years ago, Norman changed the agency’s Interstate Criminal Enforcement team to the Community Interdiction Team. Rather than focus on finding drugs as they traveled through Cleveland County’s 10-mile stretch of Interstate 85, the team looked for criminals within neighborhoods.

Drug roundups

Over the past two years, the sheriff’s office has conducted a weekly drug roundup, resulting in 340 arrests (715 total charges) and $242,590 in narcotics seized. The target of the roundups has been low- to mid-level drug dealers. Such arrests lead to a reduction in robbery, larceny and other crimes, he said.

Prescription drugs

The Prescription Drug Diversion Investigation Program was the result of a federal grant, which paid for 75 percent of the costs associated with the program, including a full-time investigator. The program aims to keep people from selling prescription drugs on the streets, and promotes the proper disposal of unwanted and outdated prescription pills.

Increase the fleet

The county patrolled by the Sheriff’s Office is divided into seven zones, formerly five. The sheriff has added two additional deputies per shift allowing the creation of more patrol zones, the fleet as a whole still has vacancies.

“This allows deputies to become more familiar with smaller zones and make more rounds within those zones. As a result, deputies are able to arrive to the scene of crime reports quicker,” Norman said.

In 2017, the Criminal Investigations Division investigated 1,128 cases, resulting in 896 felony warrants and 221 misdemeanor warrants and the recovery of $369,420 in stolen property, the sheriff said.

More fraud cases

Fraud cases have been on the rise, with 100 reported in 2011 and 125 in 2017. Most of these are reported as phone scams, the sheriff said.

The majority of these crimes originate offshore and include scammers pretending to be the IRS or companies offering prizes. Residents regularly come to the department to talk about these calls, and often are stopped from wiring money before they're out money, Norman said.

"Education is the way for us to drive those fraud numbers down," he said.

Clearing homicides

Since 2011, the Sheriff’s Office has handled fewer than five homicides each year, with only one reported in 2017.

The department has made arrests in each of those cases and brought about charges in four cold cases.

Through two newer positions, a crime data analyst and a digital forensics investigator, the department has technological tools in the shed for solving crimes.

“Numerous cases have been solved as a result of the work of these two positions,” said Norman.

Diane Turbyfill can be reached at 704-669-3334 and Twitter.com/ShelbyStarDiane.

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